248 LITTLE FOLKS 
SEA CUCUMBERS, 
What would you think of an animal, that when caught, would 
kill itself rather than be a captive, and do it in the oddest way, 
too ; by throwing out its teeth, its stomach, and all its internal 
organs, becoming a mere bag in your hands ? That is just what 
the Sea Cucumber does. But after all, this suicide seems to be 
only a sham, for these organs will all grow in again. 
The Sea Cucumber — as you may suppose — gets its name 
from its resemblance to the garden cucumber, and is one of the 
most curious creatures in the ocean. It has down its sides, little 
wart-like projections, like those on a cucumber, and when it wants 
to walk, it pushes from each of these a tiny foot with a sucker on 
the bottom, and it can go anywhere — even up the sides of a glass 
dish. 
There are other queer things about him. He is said to eat 
coral branches and even granite ; at least, his stomach is often 
found full of these things, though marine mollusks and other 
creatures are his regular food. It is found of all sizes, from one 
inch long to more than a yard. Its mouth is at one end, and sur- 
rounded by what you would think were the petals of an elegant 
flower. But the wise men call them tentacula, and they take the 
place of arms, and are organs of feeling to him. 
The South Sea Islanders will not touch one of them, while the 
Chinese devour them as a luxury. But the Chinese eat rats and 
puppies, you know, so we can't expect them to be very dainty. 
Thousands of Chinese boats are sent out every year to fish for 
Sea Cucumbers. Huts and furnaces spring up on the shore as if 
by magic. They catch them either by spearing, or diving and 
seizing them in the hands. As soon as they are brought ashore 
they are boiled, then flattened with stones, and spread out on bam- 
boo nets to dry. When dry they are smoked, and are then supposed 
to be fit to eat, though one traveler, who did not like them, says 
they look like sausages rolled in the mud and then thrown up the 
chimney. 
